Pebble Announces Start Of Smartwatch Shipments

We’ve been excited about the Pebble smartwatch for the better part of last year, and after seeing the watch hit the FCC late last month, we’ve been anxiously awaiting word of just when if would finally become available. At the CES today, the company finally revealed just when we’ll be able to get our hands on the Pebble.

The first Pebbles will ship to those customers who backed the company’s Kickstarter campaign, and will start going out on January 23. Pebble hopes to get watches out to all those backers over the following six to eight weeks.

The 144 x 168 pixel screen isn’t an electronic ink display (though it sure looks like one), but a monochrome LCD design, instead. The watch is water resistant to five atmospheres, so it should stand up to most water exposure without damage. While Pebble uses Bluetooth 2.1, the hardware supports Bluetooth 4.0 and its low-power mode, which may be activated in a future firmware release. There’s also an ambient light sensor and magnetometer that have been added to the hardware, with plans to take advantage of them later on – an effort to make the watch future-proof.

In addition to the original color options of red, white, and black, Pebble is also offering new orange and gray varieties.

Stephen has been writing about electronics since 2008, which only serves to frustrate him that he waited so long to combine his love of gadgets and his degree in writing. In his spare time, he collects console and arcade game hardware, is a motorcycle enthusiast, and enjoys trapping blue crabs. Stephen's first mobile device was a 624 MHz Dell Axim X30, which he's convinced is still a viable platform. Stephen longs for a market where phones are sold independently of service, and bandwidth is cheap and plentiful; he's not holding his breath. In the meantime, he devours smartphone news and tries to sort out the juicy bitsRead more about Stephen Schenck!